Too Cold To Love by Doris O'Connor Read Free Book Online Page B

think
about her now .
    Pain, guilt, misery, threatened to engulf Elise
before she resolutely put all that hurt back into the locked drawer in the dark
recesses of her mind that allowed her to function. She made herself recall
Marco's light smile instead when he told her that he was dropping her round
Mamma G's, instead of his house. Apparently they had decided between them that she
would be spending the night before their wedding at Mamma G's house. She had
some sort of surprise for Elise.
    Marco reappeared just then, a garment bag flung
over his shoulder, his face tense as he handed it to her.
    "Your dress for tomorrow."
    "I have a dress."
    "I have it under good authority that you
haven't. You have a suit. That," he casually gestured to the bag," is
a proper dress. Just because we're getting married at the registry office
doesn't mean you don't need a wedding dress. It should fit you. And besides I
would never hear the end of it from Mamma G."
    Elise wondered what the tense expression on his
face meant. She tried to open the bag to have a look, but his large hand on
hers stopped her.
    "Don't! Look at it when you're on your own.
It was my mother's wedding dress; she kept it for my bride. And before you ask,
the bitch never wore it. She turned her nose up at a hand-me-down, wanted
something new and expensive."
    Elise winced at the pain in those few words.
    "And you want me to wear this, Marco?"
    He threw her a glance, his face grim, before
shrugging his wide shoulders as though he didn't care.
    "No skin off my nose if you don't."
    But he couldn't hide the white knuckled grip on
the steering wheel.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Elise, wrapped into a fluffy dressing gown,
stared into the flames of the open fire in Mamma G's living room. She wrapped
her hands around the steaming hot chocolate and breathed a sigh of contentment.
Her body felt deliciously relaxed, having been pummeled and shaped by the
masseur. He had been part of her surprise, together with the hairdresser and
beautician who had given her a complete body makeover. Truly fascinating the
places one could wax these days.
    Stella and Kitty had joined her in the spa
afternoon, and Elise hadn't laughed that much in a long time. Those two were
crazy, they really were, and she'd felt a pang of envy at the easy camaraderie
between Kitty and her mother-in-law. She'd been surprised to learn that it
hadn't always been like this.
    "Oh no, Stella couldn't stand me at first.
She thought I wasn't good enough for Alex."
    "Why ever would she think that?" Elise
asked. "You're perfect for each other; everyone can see that."
    Kitty laughed and shrugged her shoulders.
    "Well, it was all a long time ago now, and
Stella thought she was doing the right thing. She doesn't miss a thing, I tell
you."
    Elise had felt a trickle of unease rolling down
her spine at those words. Behind the laughter and the shared torture of all
that pummeling, she'd been all too aware of Mamma G's thoughtful gaze. The fine
hair on her neck stood up now. Sure enough Mamma G entered the room, clad in an
identical robe, her long, shiny black hair falling free down her back. It was
hard to believe she was in her late fifties; she could easily pass for early
forties.
    Mimi will be a lucky little girl if she
inherits those strong genes.
    "I put the air con on full blast, so we
should be nice and cozy in front of the fire. Nothing like an open fire and a
hot chocolate to relax you, is there?"
    Elise smiled at her uneasily. It seemed a huge
extravagance to her to have a fire in the middle of summer, but it sure was
cozy. The Giovanni clearly had no need to watch the pennies, like Jemima and
she always had to do.
    Thoughts of Jemima made Elise shift uneasily on
her plush seat. Marco said he would help her, but at what cost? And what if he
decided to investigate her further? He was bound to after all; the man left
nothing to chance. Elise barely suppressed a shudder at the thought of what he
may do to both of them when he